UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL, PIETERMARITZBURG
EXAMINATIONS: NOVEMBER 2010
SUBJECT, COURSE AND CODE: CONTRACT (LAWS3CT)
DURATION: 3 HOURS
TOTAL MARKS: 100
External Examiner: Professor G Glover
Internal Examiner: Professor R D Sharrock
STUDENTS ARE REQUESTED, IN THEIR OWN INTERESTS, TO WRITE LEGIBLY
PLEASE NOTE:
THIS EXAM PAPER CONSISTS OF SIX (6) PAGES
PLEASE SEE THAT YOU HAVE THEM ALL
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ANSWER ALL OF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS
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QUESTION 1 – 25 MARKS
A party may be held contractually liable even though he or she can show that in the process of
contracting he or she made a material error as to the terms intended by the other party. Explain fully
the legal principles applicable in this regard, making reference to relevant case law. How do the
principles affect the position where a party has signed a document containing contractual terms? Is
it possible to contractually exclude reliance on mistake?
Having completed your discussion, comment briefly on whether there is a contract in the following
cases.
(a) Vanessa, a prospective LLB student at the local campus, applies for a loan from Last National
Bank. The bank indicates that it will give her a loan only if her stepfather, Dick, consents to
stand surety for her. Vanessa eventually persuades Dick to go into town to see the Loans
Manager of the bank. The latter produces a form full of detailed fine print and Dick, who is
generally too lazy to read anything except the sports page in the newspaper, exclaims: ‘Oh no!
Not a lot of legal mumbo-jumbo! I’ve no time to read all this now.’ The Manager replies
politely that Dick’s consent to stand surety is essential if the loan is to go through, and Dick
then signs the document, muttering something about banks and red tape. Later, Dick happens
to glance through his copy of the suretyship and he discovers that it provides that he will be
surety for ‘any amount owing at any time in the future’ by Venessa to the bank ‘from any
cause whatever’ (not merely the loan), and that he may not terminate his liability as surety
without the prior written consent of the bank. Dick is horrified at the scope of the suretyship
undertaking and he refuses to accept liability.
(b) Terri, a tenant whose lease is about to expire, asks the landlord, Larry, if he will renew the
lease for a further two years. Larry replies that he has no objection in principle to a renewal,
but must have an increase in rent for the renewal period. He adds: ‘Let me think about how
much and I’ll get my attorney to draft something and send it to you.’
Continued…/
UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL, PIETERMARITZBURG
EXAMINATIONS: NOVEMBER 2010
SUBJECT, COURSE & CODE: CONTRACT / LAWS3CT
PAGE 2
Question 1 (continued)
Larry instructs his attorney, Dullwitt, to draft a new lease and to increase the rent from R4 500
to R5 500 per month. Dullwitt Drafts does the drafting, but forgets about the increase and
reflects the rent in the document as R4 500. Terri, when signing, realizes there has been a
mistake, but decides not to say anything to Larry whom, she observes, signs without bothering
to read the document.
(c) Van der Merwe and Patel are negotiating a sale of shares. Van der Merwe says his lowest price
is R490 per share but Patel stubbornly refuses to offer more than R440. Patel goes back to his
office and, having thought again about the matter, decides to increase his offer. He dictates to
his secretary an offer to buy at R460. She carelessly types the price as ‘R490’ and Patel signs
the letter without noticing the mistake. When Van der Merwe receives the letter he is taken
aback at the price mentioned and amazed that Patel (whom he knows to be stubborn and hardheaded) appears to have had a change of heart. He accepts the offer quickly, in case there has
been a mistake.
(d) Gullible, who is keen on buying a second-hand car as a birthday present for his son, takes a
shine to a VW Golf standing in Otto’s showroom. After a test-drive, Gullible agrees to buy the
vehicle on condition that Otto replaces certain parts in the engine and puts on a set of ‘sporty
tyres’. When Gullible calls round to pick up the vehicle, Otto’s secretary hands him a
document and says that Otto wants it signed. The document bears the logo ‘Otto’s Motors’ (the
name of Otto’s business) and has the words ‘Manufacturer’s Guarantee’ printed in bold print
across the top. Gullible asks what the document is for and the secretary says: ‘It’s just our
standard guarantee.’ Gullible takes this to mean that the document relates to the new parts
installed and he signs it without bothering to read it. Later, when the vehicle develops engine
trouble, he peruses the document and discovers that it contains, inter alia, a clause exempting
the seller from liability for any latent or patent defect in the vehicle. Gullible would not have
signed the document had he known what it contained.
(e) Speedking is a rich ‘yuppie’ who, amongst other things, drives in motor rallies. He owns two
Jaguar motor cars, one specially tuned and strengthened for rallies, and the other, a luxury
model. His equally rich young friend, Buff, takes him out to lunch at the Country Club and,
during lunch, says: ‘I say, Speedy old chap, I am a great admirer of your Jag. Would you be
prepared to sell it to me? I am willing to pay you R1 million for it. Of course, I am assuming it
is still in good enough condition to match up to a Porsche or a top-of-the-range BMW.’
Speedking assures Buff that the car is ‘in excellent condition’ and accepts his offer.
Throughout the discussion, Speedking is thinking of the luxury model, and Buff the rally
model. The value of each model is approximately the same but Buff would not have agreed to
buy the luxury model.
[25]
QUESTION 2 – 25 MARKS
Referring to the reported cases, explain the requirements that must be satisfied for a
misrepresentation to found an action for rescission of a contract. Include in your answer discussion
of when silence may be regarded as actionable and the legal position in regard to ‘puffing’. Having
completed your discussion, consider briefly whether the remedy of rescission is available in the
following cases.
Continued…/
UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL, PIETERMARITZBURG
EXAMINATIONS: NOVEMBER 2010
SUBJECT, COURSE & CODE: CONTRACT / LAWS3CT
PAGE 3
Question 2 (continued)
(a) Spudd, is the owner of the MacTavern Restaurant, specialising in traditional Irish food. He
offers to sell the restaurant to Paddy for R1 million. Paddy says: ‘I can’t afford more than
R750 000.’ Spudd replies: ‘Paddy, this is a potential gold mine! If you devote your full
attention to the business you should achieve a gross turnover of well over R750 000 a month.’
This last statement convinces Paddy to buy for R1 million. After running the restaurant for a
short period, he discovers that Spudd, despite having worked long hours in the business every
day for several years, never managed to obtain a turnover of more than R200 000 per month.
(b) Shezi offers to sell his Nissan bakkie to Parbhoo. Parbhoo is concerned that the vehicle may be
defective in certain respects. When he raises his concerns, Shezi says ‘Don’t worry, before I
deliver the bakkie, I will have Speedy Motor Repairs overhaul it and repair any defects’.
Parbhoo accepts Shezi’s offer on this understanding. A few days later, he takes delivery of the
vehicle and pays the price. He then discovers that Speedy Motor Repairs have not overhauled
or even seen the vehicle. The manager of Speedy tells Parbhoo that they (Speedy) ceased to
have any dealings with Shezi two years before when he failed to settle a debt which he owed
them.
(c) Myte lives a short distance from the centre of town. Across the road from his house he owns 2
hectares of land on which he exercises his dogs. His friend, Mayne, who is a property
developer, says to him one day: ‘It’s a shame to see that large piece of land lying idle: it seems
to be ideal for township development. I’ll offer you R1 million for it.’ Myte has recently
learned that the town-planning scheme for the area does not permit subdivision and that the
market value of the land is only R200 000. Realizing that disclosure of these facts will put
Mayne off, Myte does not mention them and simply accepts Mayne’s offer. After the parties
have signed a written contract, Mayne discovers that he cannot establish a township on the
property.
(d) Van der Merwe, a Karoo farmer, is approached by Joos, who says that his son, Slyke, has ‘Xray eyes’ and can ‘see water underground, sometimes as far down as 100 metres.’ Joos offers
to have his son look for water on Van der Merwe’s farm for a fee of R20 000. Van der Merwe
is impressed with the son’s apparent supernatural abilities, and he decides to accept Joos’ offer.
Slyke’s divining efforts are unsuccessful and Van der Merwe reluctantly gives Joos a cheque
for the agreed contract price. Later that day, a police sergeant tells him to be ‘on the look-out
for a pair of tricksters, Joos and Slyke’ who are defrauding people by pretending to be water
diviners. Van der Merwe realizes that he is one of the victims and decides to stop payment on
the cheque.
(e) Solly is the owner of the ‘Continental Restaurant’, which overlooks a small dam. He advertises
the restaurant for sale and Haste comes to inspect it with a view to buying. Haste says: ‘I am
prepared to offer you R1 500 000.’ Solly, who is in need of more money than this, decides to
try and persuade Haste to offer more. He says to Haste: ‘Look, this is no ordinary restaurant.
Our customers include the State President. With the liquor licence attaching to the premises
you can hold moonlight parties alongside the lake. It’s a real bargain at R2 million.’ This
speech tips the balance in Haste’s mind and he buys at the asking price of R2 million.
Continued…/
UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL, PIETERMARITZBURG
EXAMINATIONS: NOVEMBER 2010
SUBJECT, COURSE & CODE: CONTRACT / LAWS3CT
PAGE 4
Question 2 (continued)
When he takes over the restaurant, he discovers that the state President only previously visited
on one occasion and that nearly all the restaurant’s business is done during the day, and regular
patrons have no interest in holding parties next to the dam.
QUESTION 3 – 25 MARKS
(1) Discuss fully the principles applicable in the so-called ticket and notice cases. Illustrate by
reference to the reported cases. Having completed your discussion, comment briefly on the
following problems.
(a) Simon hands in his suit for dry-cleaning to Kleenem CC, a firm of ‘steam and drycleaning specialisits’. While talking to Keenem’s employee in the front office, Simon does
not observe on the wall directly behind the counter (and clearly visible to all customers
being served) a notice containing the following exemption clause in large red letters:
‘According to our standard trading conditions, all items are cleaned entirely at owner’s
risk. The management accepts no responsibility whatsoever for loss of, or damage to,
items delivered for cleaning, whether or not the loss or damage is attributable to the
negligence of its employees.’ On getting his suit back, Simon finds that it is torn and
frayed in a number of places. He makes inquiries and discovers that an inexperienced
Kleenem employee negligently put the suit through the wrong cleaning programme and
this damaged the fabric. Simon demands that Kleenem pay him for his loss but the
manager denies liability.
(b) At the entrance to ‘Park-Safe Garage’ a notice is displayed: ‘Parking: R15-00 per day.’
Dozey, in town to do some shopping, drives in and parks his car in one of the bays. When
he returns to collect his car, he learns that it has been negligently damaged by the
attendant, who reversed into it while moving another vehicle. On complaining to the
management, Dozey's attention is drawn to a ticket which was put under the windscreen
wiper of his car after he had left to go shopping. The ticket reads in bold letters: ‘Owners
park at own risk. Park-Safe Garage is not responsible for damage or loss arising out of
theft, fire or negligence.’ Dozey has not previously used the garage.
(c) Jorler enters the foyer of the ‘Fleapit Cinema’ in Johannesburg and buys a ticket to see the
film. On the back of the ticket is printed in bold letters: ‘The Management accepts no
responsibility for any loss or damage suffered by patrons whilst in this cinema, even if
such loss or damage is due to the negligence of the management or its servants or agents.’
Jorler does not read the ticket, but puts the remaining half in his pocket after the usherette
has torn it in half as part of the process of admitting him to the auditorium. When Jorler
sits down, a projecting nail in the arm of the seat tears and ruins his suit.
[15]
(2) Outline the requirements which must be satisfied for set-off to take place and explain the
operation and effect of set-off. Having done so, answer the following questions, giving brief
reasons for your answer in each case.
Continued…/
UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL, PIETERMARITZBURG
EXAMINATIONS: NOVEMBER 2010
SUBJECT, COURSE & CODE: CONTRACT / LAWS3CT
PAGE 5
Question 3 (continued)
(a) Can a claim for delivery of a cow be set off against a claim for delivery of a horse?
(b) Is a gambling debt capable of set-off?
(c) L lets a dwelling to T, the contract providing that L must keep the exterior of the premises
in proper repair. The roof develops several leaks, so T calls upon L to have it repaired, but
he fails to do so. T has the roof fixed and wants to deduct the cost of repairs from the rent.
Does set-off operate in the following case? (Assume, for purposes of your answer, that L
is liable in law for the repairs.)
(d) Does set-off have to be specifically invoked by one of the parties?
(e) What is the effect of the expression, ‘without deduction or set-off?
[10]
QUESTION 4 – 25 MARKS
‘The right of a contractant to a decree of specific performance is not an absolute one. In certain
circumstances, the court is obliged to refuse specific performance, and in all other cases it has
discretion to do so.’
Write notes explaining each of the following.
(1) The meaning of the term ‘specific performance’ and the forms that an order of specific
performance may take.
(2) The nature of a contractant’s entitlement to claim specific performance.
(3) The nature of the court’s discretion to refuse specific performance.
(4) Factors that are commonly regarded as militating against, or favouring, the granting of specific
performance.
In the course of your answer comment on the decisions in ISEP Structural Engineering and Plating
(Pty) Ltd v Inland Exploration Co (Pty) Ltd 1981 (4) SA 1 (A) and Benson v SA Mutual Life
Assurance Society 1986 (1) SA 776 (A). Having completed your discussion, briefly consider the
following problems.
(a) L lets his house to T for 5 years. The contract provides that T is not entitled to make
improvements to the premises and that, on expiry of the term of the lease, he must restore the
premises to L in the same good order and condition in which he (T) received them. While the
lease is in force, T installs expensive Italian tiles in the bathroom and lays carpets throughout
the house, increasing the overall value of the property by some R50 000.
Continued…/
UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU-NATAL, PIETERMARITZBURG
EXAMINATIONS: NOVEMBER 2010
SUBJECT, COURSE & CODE: CONTRACT / LAWS3CT
PAGE 6
Question 4 (continued)
When T vacates at the end of the lease, he does not remove the tiles and carpets. L ascertains
that the reasonable cost of doing this will be R15 000 and wishes to recover this amount from
T.
(b) B agrees to buy 1000 shares from S at a price of R50 per share, payment to be made on
delivery of the share certificate. On the date agreed upon for delivery and payment, B goes to
S’s office and is told that S has left for London on urgent business and will only be back in two
week’s time. The trading price of the shares on the Stock Exchange at this time is R50 per
share. Before S returns, the price of the shares on the Stock Exchange soars to R80 per share.
On S’s return, B again goes to see him and demands delivery of the shares against payment of
R50 000. S refuses to deliver.
(c) Smiley, a carpenter who specializes in the making of cupboards, enters the employment of
Mustah Builders (Pty) Ltd (MB). Smiley signs a written contract stating that, for the duration
of the contract (a period of three years), he will not work as a carpenter for any other business
manufacturing cupboards or enter the services of any competitor of MB. After a year, Smiley
abandons his job at MB and goes to work for one of MB’s competitors. MB want to prevent
him from doing so.
(d) Archibald is employed as the chief accountant and financial manager for Mainstream Products
(Pty) Ltd. After an argument with the managing director of the company, he is unlawfully
dismissed. He wants to obtain an order compelling the company to reinstate him.
(e) Orville engages Bricklay to build a wall across the front of his (Orville’s) property in return for
payment of a lump sum on completion. Bricklay does part of the job and then refuses to
perform any further until he receives part payment for the work he has done. Orville is satisfied
with the quality of workmanship so far and wants an order compelling Bricklay to finish the
job. He is willing to pay the contract price once the wall has been completed.
(f) The Bridal Suite at the Lush Hotel is a detached rondavel. To improve the attractiveness of the
suite, the hotel orders from Eezee Furnishers an enormous circular water-bed, to be specially
made for R300 000. Before Eezee Furnishers start making the bed, the rondavel is struck by
lightning and destroyed. The hotel management informs Eezee Furnishers of this fact and asks
them not to make the bed, as it will be too big to fit any other room in the hotel and they will
have no use for it. Eezee Furnishers reply that they are going ahead with the order and will
demand R300 000 on delivery of the bed in due course. Having completed the bed, they
demand payment against delivery.
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